Erik's POV-

Kat sighed once again as she played with the food that was in front of her. She had been distracted ever since Monday, and it was worrying me. She continuously kept saying that nothing was wrong... but something obviously was. She just didn't want to talk about it yet.

No one but I could see the subtle hints in her face that she wasn't taking care of herself once again. There was makeup on her face once again, trying to cover up the dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was beginning to lose its liveliness that it usually had, fading into a sort of weird translucent sort of white. On top of that, she began wearing the baggiest clothes that she had picked out when we had went shopping just a few weeks before.

I was worried that she was beginning to slip a little on her ED recovery. I tried to ask her about it, but she promised me that she was still eating and was not purging afterwards. I really did want to believe her, but her behavior was bothering me. She wasn't acting like the Kat that I knew. She was acting like the girl that everyone else thought that they knew. I didn't particularly like that version of Katherine... It wasn't her.

I watched her take a few bites of the fruit medley that she had brought from home with a wince and a frown. I watched her gulp down water after swallowing it. Then I watched her war with her own mind.

I simply took the fork from her. She stared up at me with wide eyes as I watched her. I stabbed a pineapple chunk and held it up to her lips. She just stared down her nose at the piece of pineapple.

I brought the pineapple to my own lips and ate it. I then offered another piece after finishing the bite. She nibbled on the piece of cantaloupe, making me finish it.

However, it was better than nothing, so that was how the rest of lunch went. I fed her little bites, and she begrudgingly ate them. It wasn't perfect, but that was okay. She was trying, and that was all that I wanted her to do.

----

"So... Are we gonna talk about it?" I asked as I pulled up to her house after work.

"About what?"

"You're really going to make me spell it out?" I deadpanned.

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm just stressed and exhausted," she finally admitted after a long silence.

"Kat, talk to me. What do you need? What's going on?"

She closed her eyes and hung her head, "It's nothing really... I'm just tired."

"Try again," I told her firmly as I pulled her face up to look in mine. "I know you better than that. This isn't just tiredness."

She chewed on her lip as she stared at me. I felt her whole body sag when she finally let out a long deep breath and leaned into me. I could feel her tension and pain as I let her lean into me across the console.

"Let's go inside, make you comfortable, and get you into bed. Then you can talk to me, Kat. You can tell me anything, love. I won't judge you," I told her.

She followed my instruction and followed me up to her house as if she was a zombie. She really was tired, but I knew that there was more to it than that. That was just part of the problem. There was much more than just the tiredness going on.

She took her jeans off as soon as we walked through the door. She then went to the bathroom with her pajamas and changed the rest of the way in there while I straightened her bed and turned down the blankets for her. I found it a little odd that she had went to the restroom to change when I had seen her before, but I understood that she was self-conscious. I understood and wanted her to be comfortable, so I didn't question her on it when she exited the bathroom in an extremely large hoodie and shorts.

With no words, I just opened my arms and let her fall into me. She sagged against me as I easily put her in bed and tucked her in. I then laid right beside her above the blankets and just cuddled her in silence for a few minutes.

"So... Where would you like to start?" She rasped out.

"Where would you like to start? What brought all this on?" I asked.

"My mom..." She sighed. "I know, it always comes back to her," she groaned as she rubbed her face in an almost violent manner. "I just- I can't get her out! I just... I-" she sobbed with a hiccup and was completely distraught. "Erik... she's supposed to love me," she finally whispered. "They're supposed to love me. They practically want to auction me off to the highest bidder while they tear me apart at the same time."

I just held her for a few minutes as she cried. I knew... I understood that there really wasn't anything to say. No matter what I said or assured her with in those moments would be adequate enough to lessen her pain.

Her parents had made her feel like a worthless piece of show jewelry for her whole life. They made her think that she was only here to be beautiful to look at and fun to parade around, but overall... They made her believe that she had no real value in her. It was a sick and emotionally abusive way to keep someone from gaining too much confidence to overthrow your power over them. That was exactly what her parents wanted in doing the things that they were doing to her. They wanted to be able to control her in order to get what they wanted out of her.

"I'm so sorry, love," I whispered into her ear as I smoothed down her hair. "I'm so sorry that they have treated you like this. I love you. I know that it can't make up for your parents' lacking, but I really do love you."

"I know," she rasped. "And I can't really understand why. I mean, everything that my mom said about me was true. I just-"

"Absolutely none of that is true," I cut her off. "The reason why they say those things to you is to manipulate you into being their pretty little pawn, Kat. They want you to believe the shit that they say to keep power over you so that they can marry you off to Matthew or whatever other jerk they force upon you. They don't want you to get too strong and/or confident enough to decide to quit believing them and do whatever you want to," I explained slowly.

"Oh God, Matthew..." she groaned once again and buried her face in her pillow.

"What about him?"

"I'm supposed to go over to The Harrison's for Thanksgiving," she sneered.

"Excuse me?" I questioned. "I thought that your parents were too busy to come home until probably the first of the year..."

"They are," she sighed. "They want me to go."

"By yourself?" I said in disbelief.

"Exactly," she breathed out in exasperation.

"No," I said as a matter of fact.

"Erik..." she trailed off.

"No," I repeated. "Absolutely not."

"But my parents-"

"Are too busy. Your mother is working on that fashion line and her fashion show on New Year's Eve and your dad is releasing that new program for black Friday and marketing it through Christmas. They're busy. Do you honestly think that they'll come home in the midst of all of that for you missing one dinner? Just pretend that you forgot all about Thanksgiving and that's that," I said firmly. She looked skeptical at best. "Come on, Kat..." I pleaded. "That guy... He's lucky that he's still alive after touching you. Please don't go?"

"Fine. Okay," she relented with a sigh and a nod.

"Good. So will you come to my family's Thanksgiving then?" I said hopefully. "My mom loves Thanksgiving. It's a whole thing," I explained. "I'd love for you to be there with me," I added for good measure.

She looked at me skeptically and then nodded, "Okay."

"So that was what you were so stressed about. What has you so worn out and tired?" I asked finally as she still laid in my arms, and I moved my fingers gently through her tangled hair trying to unknot it.

"I just... can't sleep," she answered vaguely.

"I thought that you were going to call me when you had nightmares?" I asked softly.

"You shouldn't have to worry about that," she answered me immediately.

"But I do," I told her firmly and kissed the top of her head. "I worry about you... That includes your sleeping patterns."

She stayed silent.

"Can I ask what they're about?" I finally continued.

"Life... In all its glorious chaotic ways. Sometimes it's about being nothing and everyone leaving me. Some it's about being everything and still wanting to die. They get worse when I get stressed," she shrugged.

"So does your ED," I commented.

"It's because I'm not anchored in my own mind. I'm not stable. When I'm stressed it's easy to focus on my intake of food and scrutinize it and modify it according to the scoreboard of calories that stays lit up in my head at all times," she explained. "I understand the compulsory part of it, but I just..."

"But it's not an easy thing to resolve," I finished. "Kat, you're doing great. You're pushing yourself even when it'd be easier to just go back. You're communicating me when I ask you to explain. You're going to all your appointments. You're even making you happy still instead of your parents. You're doing good. Let yourself have this bad day or week or whatever, and then get back to it. Happiness comes from within, Kat. Just like beauty. You are so beautiful, and you will be so happy. Let yourself believe in you because I do too."

A/n-

Hey y'all! I am so tired. I have not gotten a chance to edit. Let me know what you thought. I LOVE YOU! Don't forget to vote, comment, and share!

-KAF❤️